Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1887-06-17
TIE "V0WS OF LUDWIG" "
TRAGIC ENDING OF a STRANGE MA
MA OF BAvARIAN MAlDENS.

Two Young Isaronesses Commit .esci,le
at the Very spot where the s.,,.s ..irg
Drowned HimsclE-History Of :. rccu-
liar Mania.
A curious feminine mania Il c.Il. TO
mind by the recent tragic news fre.a Nfu-
Mich. Two young ladies OF il; .--
baronesses-have committed scx,.0 ~
drowning in the Starnherg lai. ne
very spot where the mad kins nis
drowned himself last year. Tl,y l. Is
of these ladies are familiar to I'll Slo
have been admitted to the lest .irnch
society. They were sisters, aged - ard
26, and were famed for their beauty
Their family is very noble and wealthy
one. The mania TO which they fell vic
Tins had its origin fifteen or sixteen years
ago. The young king was then at the
height of his romantic fame. His ideally
handsome likeness was to be seen every
where, and everywhere you heard talk Of
his poetic melancholy, his romantic spirit,
and his confirmed celibacy. Naturally he
became an object of intense interest to
sentimental young ladies.
SILLY TALE.
Presently, among the other absurd tales
that were told of him, there went abroad
the story that he spent most of his time
in wandering about his kingdom in dis
guise. He haunted shady lanes and ro-
mantle spots, seeking for some fair maiden
who should be his chosen bride. We'll,
this silly tale was believed and set thou
sands of hearts to fluttering. Each maiden
wondered If she would be his choice il he
Glanced to meet her under the lime trees
And she hesitated to plight her troth to
her village lover until she should have had
chance to meet the king.
So 1t came to pass that in the village of
Bcrtoldshofen, in the romantic mountain
region of southern Bavaria, the maidens
formed themselves into sort of sister,
hood They pledged themselves to each
other not TO marry until they were sure
the king had passed them by. Each was
to wear his likeness constantly near her
bosom, and each was to choose for herself
secret bower where at eventide she
should await his coming. A more silly
scheme, probably, never was devised
by the silly brains of love sick school girls.
But more than score of Bertoldshofen
maidens entered into it with the zeal and de-
votion of nuns. The fame of this sisterhood
spread to other villages, to towns, and
cities-nay, to Munich itself Rustic
wenches and the petted beauties of princely
Within year not less than 10 600 young
women, all through Bavaria, had taken
upon themselves the ''vows of Ludwig
and were waiting for their king.
FREED FROM THEIR vows.
In time many Of these girls imagined
they had been seen and passed by by the
king, and, thus freed from their vows, ac-
cepted humber husbands. Others grew
-
Still others waited and waited in vain,
until oil other suitors had passed them by;
and they are waiting still and will be
waiting all their lives. But as the ranks
of the original sisterhoods were thinned
new recruits were added, and ''the brides
of Ludwig" were still counted by thou
sands. it is estimated that there were no
less than 1000 of them at the time of his
suicide. When the news of that tragedy
became known they forthwith put on
mourning and called themselves e'the wild
ows of Ludwig" Many of them took sol
emn vows of life long celibacy, as q token
of faithfulness to his memory.
Among these latter two of the most de-
voted were the young baronesses of Mu-
mich to whom we have referred They
constantly wore the deepest mourning,
secluded themselves from all social pleas
ures, and drove themselves into confirmed
melancholy. Every week they went to
Starnberg and threw garlands of flowers
into the water at the very spot where the
king was drowned. Finally they deter
mined to share his fate. They arrayed
themselves as brides, even to donning
wells and orange blossoms, rowed out into
the lake to the spot where he was drowned,
and threw themselves into the water.
Their bodies were found next day, clasped
in each others arms, and with portraits
of the mad king next their hearts.-Paris
Cor. Chicago Tribune